Sometimes it's difficult to be totally objective, so I'll confess that growing
up in Southern California, I always wanted to be a surfer babe. I'd get up early
to catch the waves before school and return again in the afternoon. Which is
why I enjoyed this water world sports drama far more than formulaic material
warranted. Set in Hawaii, the story revolves around a blonde jock (Kate
Bosworth) who lives with her rebellious younger sister (Mika Boorem) and two
surfing pals (Michelle Rodriguez, Sanoe Lake) in a ramshackle beach house. She's
qualified for the Pipe Masters competition on the treacherous North Shore of
Oahu but she's psych'd herself out because of a previous near-fatal wipeout.
Just a week before the competition, she meets a visiting NFL quarterback
(Matthew Davis) who wants surfing lessons - before they tumble between the
sheets. But this tepid romantic distraction is secondary to the adrenaline rush
of the spectacularly exciting but dangerous water action. Cinematographer David
Hennings and his intrepid crew capture the awesome enormity of the 30' high
waves, using a gyrocam, or underwater camera, for a surfer's-eye-view inside the
ferociously frightening funnels. Writer/director John Stockwell and writer Lizzy
Weiss, inspired by Susan Orlean's "Surf Girls of Maui," explore the curious
surfing subculture and create a rockin' momentum with Bob Marley's "And Be
Loved," Blestenation's hip-hop remix of Bananarama's "Cruel Summer," etc. While
Bosworth and Rodriguez are superb athletes, A-list surfers Rochelle Ballard,
Megan Abubo, Keala Kennelly, Layne Beachley and Kate Skarratt did the difficult
stunts. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Blue Crush" is an empowering,
exhilarating, end-of-summer 7. This is surfing like you've never seen before!